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GRACE Rendering
GRACE Rendering
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Credit: NASA
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GRACE-FO, a collaboration between NASA and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on on May 22, 2018.
GRACE-FO Launches
GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) continues the legacy of GRACE, tracking Earth’s water movement and surface mass changes across the planet. Monitoring changes in ice sheets and glaciers, near-surface and...
GRACE-FO Mission Brochure
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 2).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 2)
The GRACE-FO satellites, attached to turntable fixtures, at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (view 1).
GRACE-FO Satellites, Attached to Turntable Fixtures
Measuring Earth's Gravity from Space poster
Measuring Earth's Gravity from Space Poster
The GRACE-FO satellites were assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. The photo shows one of the satellites in the testing facility of IABG, an Airbus subcontractor, in Munich (view 3).
GRACE-FO Satellites in Testing
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 4)
Illustration of GRACE-FO (View 4)
The GRACE-FO satellites, attached to turntable fixtures, at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
GRACE-FO Satellites at Vandenberg
The GRACE-FO satellites were assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. The photo shows one of the satellites in the testing facility of IABG, an Airbus subcontractor, in Munich (view 2).
GRACE-FO Satellites During Testing (View 2)
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Antarctica.
GRACE-FO Above Antarctica
This map from September 2015 shows deep drought in California, Nevada and Texas.
Groundwater Drought Indicator
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 5).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 5)
Depletion of groundwater in northwestern India between 2002 and 2008, measured by GRACE.
Groundwater Depletion in India, 2002-2008
For 15 years, the GRACE mission has unlocked mysteries of how water moves around our planet. It gave us the first view of underground aquifers from space, and shows how fast polar ice sheets and mo...
15 Years of GRACE Earth Observations
The twin satellites of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on, or GRACE-FO, will track the movement of water around Earth. This short video explains how and why it's important.
Why Is GRACE-FO So Important?
A 3D interactive model of NASA's GRACE-FO spacecraft.
GRACE-FO 3D Model
Between 2002 and 2016, Antarctica shed approximately 125 gigatons of ice per year, causing global sea level to rise by 0.35 millimeters per year.
Antarctic Ice Loss 2002-2016
Research based on GRACE observations indicates that between 2002 and 2016, Greenland shed approximately 280 gigatons of ice per year.
Greenland Ice Loss 2002-2016
GRACE-Follow On (GRACE-FO) is a satellite mission that launched in May 2018. GRACE-FO will continue the work of the GRACE satellite mission tracking Earth's water movement around the globe. These d...
Tracking Water from Space
A map of groundwater storage trends for Earth's 37 largest aquifers using GRACE data, showing depletion and replenishment in millimeters of water per year.
Map of Groundwater Storage Trends for Earth's 37 Largest Aquifers
The NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft launches onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, May 22, 2018, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
GRACE-FO Launches, Ocean View
The two GRACE-FO satellites are seen from GFZ’s Satellite Laser Ranging Station in Potsdam, Germany, on May 23, 2018 at 22:16 UTC and 22:17 UTC, respectively.
GRACE-FO Satellites From Potsdam
Work begins to build NASA’s twin satellites, under construction by Airbus Defense and Space.
Build Commences on GRACE-FO Satellites
This animation shows the annual water storage changes over the U.S. from GRACE from 2003 - 2013.
Annual Water Storage Changes over the U.S. from GRACE
GRACE observed Earth’s surface mass changes nearly every month from 2002 to mid-2017. GRACE Follow-On will provide crucial continuity to these observations for the next five years or more.
Earth Mass Changes, 2002 to 2017
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In a recent study, scientists found that a previously unmeasured source – water percolating through soil and fractured rock below California’s Sierra Nevada mountains – delivers an average of 4 million acre feet (5 cubic kilometers) of water to the state’s Central Valley each year. This underground source accounts for about 10% of all the water that enters this highly productive farmland each year from every source (including river inflows and precipitation).
NASA Measures Underground Water Flowing From Sierra to Central Valley
Researchers have untangled puzzling patterns of sinking and rising land to pin down the underground locations where water is being pumped for irrigation.
NASA Finds New Way to Monitor Underground Water Loss
Decades of drought across the U.S. Southwest has led some scientists to classify the intense, prolonged dryness as a “megadrought.” But drought in North America took a different shape in 2021, affecting areas that do not face long-term or intense drought as often. The northern Great Plains has been coping with drought for months.
Drought in the Northern Great Plains
Focusing on the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions, the award cites the “outstanding leadership of the international consortium in the planning and implementation of the successful Earth gravity missions.”
International Cooperation Award for NASA JPL's Michael Watkins, Michael Gross
Scientists have gained new insights into the processes that have driven ocean level variations for over a century, helping us prepare for the rising seas of the future.
NASA-led Study Reveals the Causes of Sea Level Rise Since 1900
Continuous monitoring of glaciers and ice caps has provided unprecedented insights to global ice loss that could have serious socioeconomic impacts on some regions.
Ice Melt Linked to Accelerated Regional Freshwater Depletion